Donald Trump calls for boycott of woman TV anchor Megyn Kelly

Washington: Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has called for boycott of a popular television anchor who has been critical of his policies and rhetoric, drawing widespread condemnation.

"Everybody should boycott" the Megyn Kelly show, Trump tweeted yesterday in a apparent reference to the "The Kelly File" show of the popular Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly.

Megyn Kelly

"Never worth watching. (It is) always a hit on Trump. She is sick (and) the most overrated person on TV," 69-year-old said as he took his rivalry with the American journalist to a new level.

Not only Fox News but also other journalist came in support of Kelly.

"Megyn is an exemplary journalist and one of the leading anchors in America -- we're extremely proud of her phenomenal work and continue to fully support her throughout every day of Trump's endless barrage of crude and sexist verbal assaults," a Fox News spokesman said in a statement.

"As the mother of three young children, with a successful law career and the second highest rated show in cable news, it's especially deplorable for her to be repeatedly abused just for doing her job," the news channel said.

Trump's "vitriolic attacks" against Kelly and "his extreme, sick obsession" with the anchor are "beneath the dignity of a presidential candidate who wants to occupy the highest office in the land," Fox News said.

Fox News personality Geraldo Rivera took to Twitter to defend his colleague.

"I love you man but basta," he tweeted at the outspoken billionaire. "This obsession with @megynkelly is weird (and) unhelpful. She's doing her job, you do yours."

The feud between the two began in August when, during the first GOP presidential debate in Cleveland, Trump blasted Kelly over questions she posed to him regarding his history with women, including his references to some women he didn't like as "dogs" and "fat pigs."

Trump upped the ante shortly thereafter, saying that Kelly had become so incensed, "you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her - wherever."